Usili upma

Cooks in: 20 Minutes Serves: 2 People

This is a traditional dish of TamilNadu, made with rice and moong dal. A very simple dish, but tastes fantastic with a spicy chutney. Generally, this is prepared for dinner. I achieved the same taste with millets and am really happy to share an age old recipe using millets.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 Cup Kodo Millet/Varagu
• 1/4 Cup Moong dal
• 2 Tbsp Grated Coconut
• 2 Cups Water
• 1/2 Tsp Salt

Seasoning:

• 2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
• 5 Red Chillies
• 2 Tsp Urad Dal
• 2 Tsp Chana Dal
• 1/2 Tsp Mustard Seeds
• 1/4 Tsp Asafoetida Powder/Hing/Perungayam
• 10 Curry Leaves

Directions:

1. Roast dal and rice lightly. Wash and soak for 30 minutes. Drain.
2. In a cooker add oil and do the seasoning.
3. Add dal, rice, water and salt.
4. Close and cook for 2 whistles. Let pressure settle down.
5. Open, fluff up after 10 minutes and add grated coconut. Serve with chutney.

Note:

1. For OPOS version, in a 2 Ltr cooker, add pre roasted dal, rice, water, salt and premade tadka. Cook for 2 Whistles. Let pressure settle down. Open and add grated coconut.

2. Little, Barnyard, Foxtail and Proso millets can also be used for this recipe.